Packers: Keeping Jared Cook Should Be Top Offseason Priority

The Green Bay Packers have a lot of football left to play this season. So it does seem early to talk about the offseason, but after watching what Jared Cook did Sunday in Dallas, it’s safe to say he must be re-signed.

Certainly, the Packers know this as well as anyone and there is reason to believe that a deal will get done. After all, it was Green Bay who jumped at the chance to sign him last year, even though it was just a one-year $3 million deal.

Ted Thompson, all he does is sign quality free agents. He may not sign them often, definitely not enough for the taste of Green Bay fans or even at times head coach Mike McCarthy. Yet with Cook, Thompson was aggressive and he hit a home run.

With Jordy Nelson out, Cook was the featured player in the offense, outside of Aaron Rodgers of course. Dallas covered him with corners, safeties and linebackers and still he got open. He’s a matchup nightmare and that’s why he must be brought back.

In the last five games, Cook has 24 receptions for 330 yards and one touchdown. He’s made some huge plays, obviously none bigger than his last second catch that set up Mason Crosby’s game-winning field goal. But more than that, defenses have to account for him and that opens things up for Nelson, Davante Adams, Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison.

About two weeks ago, Cook was asked about this offseason and he said, “without a doubt” he wanted to return to Green Bay and continue to play with Aaron Rodgers.

Cook had this to say following Green Bay’s win over Detroit two weeks ago, a win that got the tight end his first division title and playoff appearance.

“It’s a difficult league to play in,” Cook said, “and it’s a place that I’ve been trying to get to for eight years. It’s a feeling that I’ve always wanted to feel, and now being able to feel it for the first time, I can’t even describe how cool it is.”

Cook has proven to be a difference maker and like Thompson did with other prominent free agents such as Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett, he needs to give him a second deal to keep him in Green Bay for at least a few more years.

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I am a Montana sports reporter who is obsessed with the Green Bay Packers. I've been blogging about the team since 2011. My work has been seen on the Bleacher Report, Fox Sports and USA Today, among other websites. Currently, a staff writer at cheeseheadtv.com